Letters to the Editor: Trump was outfoxed

Reyna Sigoran, left, transfers sauce into a container at the plating station at the Munchery kitchen in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.

Photo: Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle

Congratulations to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She outfoxed the deal artist in the White House. With President Trump nonetheless continuing to threaten to declare a national emergency, bypass Congress and build his wall, Trump’s next deal should be worse for him than the one he rejected previously.

Congress’ next bill should fund the government for the rest of the year contingent on Trump not declaring a national emergency to fund the wall.

If Trump declares a national emergency, the funding of the government should stop automatically.

Douglas Carlson, San Francisco

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If this border wall is so important to our national security, why didn’t President Trump and the Republicans vote to erect a wall on our southern border when they had control of both the House and Senate?

It seems rather odd to have waited. Is there some dissension in the ranks?

Rob Lefkowitz, Danville

Keep Trump in office

As tantalizing as impeachment may seem to Americans who still value constitutional democracy, it is based on a misunderstanding of the core problem. President Trump is a symptom, not the cause.

The root cause can be traced back to former President Richard Nixon’s dirty tricks (as Roger Stone can confirm), but it became an overt strategy in the early 1990s under former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

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Munchery filled a need

I loved Munchery and used it several times a week for many years. I started using it when it was brand new in San Francisco. Others in my building also used it. The food was delicious, and I would be using it now if I had not moved to a retirement community where meals are included. I am so sorry to see it dissolve. Very sad. It really filled a need.

Carole Cohen, San Francisco

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Knowing that most Americans would never buy their agenda based on its merits, Republicans instead chose a strategy of fear, division and hate, of which Trump is its ultimate manifestation.

Getting rid of Trump will only let the GOP off the hook. Better that Trump remains the albatross around the GOP’s neck going in to 2020. We will know we are making progress on the core problem of our political age when Republicans come begging for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s help to remove Trump from office.

James Heron, San Francisco

Schools in need of funding

San Francisco’s public schools are treasured institutions in a profound state of crisis. The economic forces at play in our great city have left out many, including teachers. As a San Francisco Unified School District parent for over a decade, I’ve seen one budgetary struggle after another hit schools as they bob and weave and somehow manage to avoid a crisis. Affluent parents are asked to fill gaps via PTA fundraising, but that is surely not an equitable solution to inadequate funding.

These are creative, smart leaders that are being asked to do the impossible on a daily basis, yet they somehow manage. But the fabric is all too frayed. My daughter’s middle school lost 10 teachers last year because they could no longer afford to live in the city or keep up a long-distance commute.

Just last week, another suddenly resigned. Schools deserve a significant portion of San Francisco’s $185 million windfall to fulfill the will of the voters and to provide SFUSD with some measure of financial stability. When a community becomes unaffordable for those who commit their lives to public education and provide them with the tools to be productive, contributing members of society, what are we left with, really?

Lena Brook, San Francisco

Wind and solar power

Concerning “PG&E gets reprieve, not pardon” (Editorial, Jan. 28): I completely agree with this editorial’s position that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should not be given any more state bailouts due to financial problems caused by its repeated safety failures.

I also support the suggestion that our state leaders need to provide Californians with more alternative sources for energy. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has advocated for wind and solar power, should help lead the effort to make these options more affordable and accessible for everyone in our state.

Sasha Englander, San Rafael

Independent authority

Regarding “State PUC another villain in PG&E saga” (Open Forum, Jan. 25): I agree wholeheartedly with Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer’s opinion that the role of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) should not stay below the radar in assessing the culpability of private utility companies for the recent apocalyptic wildfires in California. But, I fear his recommendation — that the current commissioners be replaced, and CPUC’s enforcement powers and abilities strengthened does not go far enough. Under the circumstances, we need to consider broader organizational change.

Gov. Gavin Newsom should appoint an independent authority to thoroughly investigate the CPUC’s oversight of private utilities. Among the many issues the independent authority should specifically address is whether the safety of Californians is best left in the CPUC’s hands. An alternative is to vest utility safety oversight in another state agency with the mandate, authority, and expertise to focus exclusively on safety.

We now know that the co-author of a book called “The Art of The Deal” is someone who can’t negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag. What a fake! But we also know that another book about someone like him was written by Hans Christian Andersen a long time ago. It was called “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”